Don’t Run

Billy stopped breathing. Staring straight at them was a tiger. Its long orange fur was striped with black and its eyes were a vivid yellow. Even from a distance, Billy could see its claws glinting in the light.

‘This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening,’ Dylan whispered, his eyes tightly shut.

‘What do we do?’ Billy asked. He felt frozen to the spot, as if he was in a dream where he couldn’t move. He tried to remember if he knew anything about tigers. But all he could focus on was the one directly in front of them.

‘I don’t know,’ Ling-Fei whispered back, her eyes huge.

‘We shouldn’t run,’ Charlotte said. ‘I know that much from watching animal documentaries.’

‘Do you think it’s seen us?’ Dylan said, his eyes still closed. ‘Maybe it doesn’t know we’re here.’

As if in response, the tiger licked its lips, its pink tongue flicking out again and again.

‘It has definitely seen us,’ whimpered Ling-Fei.

The tiger stood up and stretched. Its muscles rippled under its fur and Billy knew without a doubt that it could tear him apart.

He could only think of one other time he’d been this frightened. He’d been surfing, alone, and a wave had knocked him off and under his board. He hadn’t been able to tell which way was up and he’d been certain he was going to die.

He had the same feeling now. A cold, dark feeling that spread throughout his entire body. Then, he’d kicked and struggled and swum till the ocean spat him out. Now, his heart hammering in his chest so loudly he was sure the tiger could hear it, he tried to stay as still as he could. Everything around him seemed to come more into focus – the colours were brighter, he could smell the earth of the forest floor and he thought he could even see the tiger’s whiskers quivering.

‘Don’t move,’ Ling-Fei whispered without opening her mouth.

‘What’s it doing?’ asked Dylan, less quietly than Ling-Fei.

‘Dylan, shut up and stay still,’ Charlotte hissed.

Dylan opened one eye and inhaled so loudly, Billy had to stop himself from throwing his hand over Dylan’s mouth.

‘We are so dead!’ Dylan said, starting to tremble.

‘Dylan, stay calm,’ whispered Billy, taking the smallest of steps closer to him. ‘Just breathe.’ Billy said this as much to himself as to Dylan. He knew if he focused on keeping Dylan calm, he wouldn’t be able to think about how terrified he was.

Dylan breathed out a long, loud, shuddering breath.

‘Breathe quieter,’ Charlotte whispered.

The tiger started making its way down the steps of the pavilion, its eyes on them. Billy felt Dylan tense, and could sense he was about to take off.

‘Stay still. It’ll think you’re prey if you run,’ Billy whispered as loudly as he dared.

‘We are prey!’ said Dylan. But he didn’t move.

Billy wondered if they should try to scare the tiger off, the way he had heard you could do with a bear. Maybe they should get together and try to make themselves as big as possible. He didn’t have time to make that decision though.

By now, the tiger was so close that Billy could have taken two steps forward and touched its pink nose. Then, right as the tiger almost reached them, it veered left, its thick tail swaying as it circled behind them.

‘Wh-what’s it d-doing?’ Dylan stammered.

‘I think it’s going away,’ said Ling-Fei.

None of them dared to look over their shoulders, but Billy could feel the tiger’s yellow eyes boring into their backs.

There was a rustle, followed by a low growl.

‘It’s going to eat us!’ Dylan shouted, and he sprinted towards the pavilion.

‘Dylan! Wait!’ called Ling-Fei.

With a mighty roar, the tiger leaped over Billy, Ling-Fei and Charlotte, and chased after Dylan into the trees beyond.

The other three looked at each other in a panic. ‘We have to go after him,’ said Billy. ‘Come on!’

He ran as fast as he could, without really knowing what he was going to do once he caught up. He just knew he couldn’t abandon Dylan.

He could see flashes of orange ahead and, just a bit further, the back of Dylan’s head.

‘Do you have a plan?’ shouted Charlotte, catching up to Billy as he dodged a low-hanging branch.

‘I was hoping one of you did,’ Billy shouted back.

‘With four of us together, we might be able to hold the tiger off!’ said Ling-Fei, coming up on his other side.

They raced through the trees, monkeys howling and shouting in the branches above, and burst into another clearing. They found Dylan backed against a sheer limestone wall, holding his hands over his face.

There was no sign of the tiger.

‘Dylan! Come on, let’s get out of here!’ yelled Billy, running towards him.

Dylan looked up in a panic. ‘Stop!’ he cried. ‘The tiger is right there!’

But it was too late. When Billy turned towards where Dylan was pointing, he saw the tiger standing above them on a massive boulder. It stared at them for a long moment, before letting out a fierce roar.

Instinctively, the four moved closer together. Billy reached out to grab Charlotte’s hand on his right and Dylan’s on his left, just as Ling-Fei took Dylan’s other hand.

As they stood there, linked, Billy felt as if time had stopped. A jolt ran through their intertwined hands. It was like the same strange adrenaline rush he felt when he took a huge wave while surfing.

The tiger jumped off the boulder, landing a few paces away from them. There was nowhere for them to go. No way for them to stop whatever happened next.

It was odd then, Billy thought, that he didn’t feel as afraid any more. His earlier sense of dread and fear had gone. Instead, he felt a kind of calm strength. Like he could face anything. Even a tiger. He gripped his friends’ hands tighter.

And then the strangest thing happened.

The tiger seemed to inhale deeply, its whiskers twitching. It took a few steps back and let out another roar.

‘Do you think it’s calling for its friends?’ Dylan whispered.

The tiger looked at them again with its piercing yellow eyes and, with a roar, it leaped into the air straight at them. Someone, maybe Charlotte, screamed.

Billy shut his eyes, waiting for the worst…